Pro Pool players courting disaster

[JAM]

JAM...I stand corrected. That is beyond absurd!

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

Yeah, it was a bummer for Keith. He hadn't picked up a cuestick in almost 5 years, and the first time he ventures out to compete, this is what he had to spot his opponent. :frown:

It was a handicapped tournament. Many regional tours today do that -- that is, even if they allow the pros to compete. Some regional tours ban pro players altogether.

This is why I think the pro players need to do what they gotta do make a living, and if this means going to Vegas for BB, good for them! I hope they enjoy the income and live well instead of sleeping on floors in hotel rooms, sleeping in a car all night, consume blood-mud food at fast-food restaurants, shopping at thrift shops for clothing. We readers on this forum and fans aren't paying them. We are paying industry members by supporting industry members, but have you ever taken a look at how the BCA, the organization for industry members, treats professional pool players in America? The industry members enjoy T-bone steak, and when they're done, they grow a little bone out for all the pro players to nibble on, a little bone with not much meat on it, I might add. :angry:

 

[JAM]

Jam... Grasping at straws is what I am seeing in your comments.

The old saying goes,"You made your bed so lay in it".

During the great depression of 1929 men of high esteem were reduced to selling apples on street corners.

I am sure that they didn't want to but they had to.

Sometimes you just need to adapt to your surroundings.

Pool ain't paying the bills, well maybe a 9 to 5 job will.

Think about it. :smile:

Don

Eaxctly, Don, and I agree. So if the pro players want to join BB, who are we to say they should not? They're trying to pay their bills, just like we do. Think about that! :wink:

 

[lee brett]

100% if the job was something they had a passion for, and Bonus Ball may be that job.

Look at the alternative: You can go to another "job" called a Pro Pool Tournament where they expect you to PAY to work, with another 100 or so "workers" of the same trade. Then, they promise if you do better than 75% of the other "workers" they will give you some of your money back.

If you do REALLY well they will give you more than your money back. 74% of these "workers" will lose money for working just as hard at preparing in their own way......oh, yes and all the workers have to pay for 100% of their food, travel, room, equipment, powder, wardrobe, etc.

Their only real drive comes from the passion they have for the Game......a Game that would advise them not to undertake such a negative situation. The Game would advice them not to because any consultant would advice a worker not to subject themselves to these type situations. In most states you MUST pay minimum wage, however, in this "Pro Tournament" scenario the Labor Laws do not apply.

People can actually Charge their staff to work without any chance of recovery. Then, if they {the players} find something else that will pay 100% of them (Bonus Ball) they are ridiculed for NOT being loyal to the scenario that makes most of them suffer a severe financial punishment.

We sincerely wish the best for the entire staff of Bonus Ball and every player that's doing what they MUST do to survive. If there's every anything we can do for their cause we will at NO CHARGE.....We've been in this situation on the Road, where we had to win to eat.....where no one was on our side, and would laugh if they thought we were broke or struggling......We have no grudges and understand this is human nature to an extent, the "dark side" of human psych.....we will do whatever's necessary to help if they need a hand. 'The Game is our Teacher'

CJ - 100% hit the nail on the head. Everyone should read this and stop slating the players etc...

Great post and tells it how it is, yet no one seems to understand this. Pool pro's ain't pro's, or they wouldn't pay to play. Do you see snooker players paying or darts players paying to play.

CJ has it 100% spot on!! IMO if the promoters want the best to play, then pay them to play.

 

[JAM]

This is correct. I pulled 84 hours in 4 back to back shifts earlier in the week.

Troll all you like, but you won't slow me down.

Nathan, he's a good kid. He's just passionate about pool, like you and me both. He's been playing pool, competing in professionasl events, since he was knee-high. His family is also involved in pool for as long as I can remember.

I don't like to see anyone go at it on these threads. Both of you are good pool peeps who believe strongly in their stance. Nothing wrong with that. I just want you to recognize -- and you, too, "Kid Dynamite" -- that we all need to watch BB blossom.

All this talk is like anticipating the taste of the meal before it is served.

 

[lee brett]

Joy of being salaried... 8months of not having to do anything is made up of 6 weeks of ohhhh my god I am gonna die......

Actually i would bet that the crew couldn't do what was needed until the contractors were done... But the other story was much better for getting a chuckle =)

For Nathan and Lee I wish nothing but good luck with BB truthfully from the bottom of my heart.. As far as going forward... I hope the streams that have become rivers can be forded.....

Chris

Thanks Chris

lol, not quite.

The work comes from about 8,000 lines of code that runs the entire system, knows what player is at the table shooting what ball automatically for the entire season, records all stats automatically, auto injects all stats into our dynamic custom made graphics overlay engine (score tickers, player comparisons, rankings, etc), drives the shot and game clocks automatically, updates the entire website stats pages after each shot automatically, has our own PPV streaming platform that costs us pennies in bandwidth (rather than thousands per week), iOS and Android support, auto-scaling video resolution that checks your bandwidth every 5 seconds and auto adapts for best performance, built in member chat, fallback to ustream system in case of stream failure, etc.

And that's just the web portion, let alone the tech in studio, which has over 600 cables and pieces of hardware.

People can laugh all they want, but they have absolutely no idea of the tech that I've built into this over the past few months. I'm not bragging either, as until it all works in a real world environment, it means nothing. Im just explaining how far we've pushed this, and how little anyone really knows about what's going on in this studio.

It may take us a few weeks to get it all running live, but we will start at around 80% and slowly implement these latest bells and whistles. Same with the show opener and graphics. We will reshoot all these aspects the first week while all the players are here in the new studio, and then have the new graphics and intro ready for week 2-3.

I can personally say i know how much work has been put into this, and i can guarantee you ain't seen anything like this studio and especially the graphics Nathan has done. It is incredible and IMO WILL be the reason why major TV companies will take this product, it is a top class job done by Nathan and his crew to give pool a chance of being on TV and successful.

Just give it a chance and see what he has done, he alone deserves it too succeed for the amount of work he has done. He has brought pool into the 21st century, this thing look amazing, lets hope people support it now and keep it there.

In 4 days you will all see, and even the knockers will be impressed, even if they don't admit it.

Great job Nathan, now get some rest before you become ill from lack of sleep.

 

[Fast Lenny]

Why are you working so hard -- the construction fiasco delayed this 8 months giving you and your crew plenty of time to get things beyond hammering nails in order.

The arena had to be completed before we could do our thing and not before it.

 

[Diamond69]

lol, not quite.

The work comes from about 8,000 lines of code that runs the entire system, knows what player is at the table shooting what ball automatically for the entire season, records all stats automatically, auto injects all stats into our dynamic custom made graphics overlay engine (score tickers, player comparisons, rankings, etc), drives the shot and game clocks automatically, updates the entire website stats pages after each shot automatically, has our own PPV streaming platform that costs us pennies in bandwidth (rather than thousands per week), iOS and Android support, auto-scaling video resolution that checks your bandwidth every 5 seconds and auto adapts for best performance, built in member chat, fallback to ustream system in case of stream failure, etc.

And that's just the web portion, let alone the tech in studio, which has over 600 cables and pieces of hardware.

People can laugh all they want, but they have absolutely no idea of the tech that I've built into this over the past few months. I'm not bragging either, as until it all works in a real world environment, it means nothing. Im just explaining how far we've pushed this, and how little anyone really knows about what's going on in this studio.

It may take us a few weeks to get it all running live, but we will start at around 80% and slowly implement these latest bells and whistles. Same with the show opener and graphics. We will reshoot all these aspects the first week while all the players are here in the new studio, and then have the new graphics and intro ready for week 2-3.

Great post Nathan. I have nothing to judge you by other than your posts at this point. And most of them (IMO) have been very defensive, none of your business, you're not our target market type posts. This one has some peek into the work your doing to go beyond filming people putting balls into pockets. This post adds intrigue and marketing of the bells and whistles. That is a good thing.
Would still like to know who your target market is. That should not be a secret. I am not one of the people wanting to know your business plan, etc. With 8 month delay, I'm sure it was not BB's plan to schedule over other key events. Things happen and you did. You try to defend it and people either don't understand or don't care. That doesn't affect me. I just hope it all works out to everyone's benefit.

 

[JoeyA]

lol, not quite.

The work comes from about 8,000 lines of code that runs the entire system, knows what player is at the table shooting what ball automatically for the entire season, records all stats automatically, auto injects all stats into our dynamic custom made graphics overlay engine (score tickers, player comparisons, rankings, etc), drives the shot and game clocks automatically, updates the entire website stats pages after each shot automatically, has our own PPV streaming platform that costs us pennies in bandwidth (rather than thousands per week), iOS and Android support, auto-scaling video resolution that checks your bandwidth every 5 seconds and auto adapts for best performance, built in member chat, fallback to ustream system in case of stream failure, etc.

And that's just the web portion, let alone the tech in studio, which has over 600 cables and pieces of hardware.

People can laugh all they want, but they have absolutely no idea of the tech that I've built into this over the past few months. I'm not bragging either, as until it all works in a real world environment, it means nothing. Im just explaining how far we've pushed this, and how little anyone really knows about what's going on in this studio.

It may take us a few weeks to get it all running live, but we will start at around 80% and slowly implement these latest bells and whistles. Same with the show opener and graphics. We will reshoot all these aspects the first week while all the players are here in the new studio, and then have the new graphics and intro ready for week 2-3.

Nathan,
You seem to be in a class by yourself with computer graphics, at least as far as the pool world is concerned. I remember that you lead the way with computer graphics in your instructional DVD video of Mika Immonen quite a few years back.

For a young guy, you have a lot of talent in this area. You continued to lead the way with International exposure and DVDs from your recent trip around the world with new super-star Florian "Venom" Kohler.

I'm not sure if Bonus Ball is the answer that pool players need or not but it is my fervent belief that people like yourself are the future of pool. I hope you continue to stay healthy and don't burn yourself out prematurely. The pool world needs more people like you.

Click HERE to see how Runout Media is leading the way in the pool industry.

Joey Aguzin

 

[Fatboy]

Nathan,
I hope you continue to stay healthy and don't burn yourself out prematurely.

Click HERE to see how Runout Media is leading the way in the pool industry.

Joey Aguzin

Thats what i did to myself 10-11 years ago, i was 35 or 36 and collapsed from a heart attack, was scary. long before back problems. i was 36 going on 76. i was balls to the wall working 100 weeks for years straight. i got away with it, barely. now i'm lazy. its not a good balance looking back.

 

[PoolRookie]

Pro-Players Sponsorship

Just a question, How about the players that are involved with BB, will they lose their current sponsorships for not traveling around playing in the Pro events using their sponsors equipment and promoting it??? Tied up in a studio not promoting products how can sponsors pay for that???

 

[Kid Dynomite]

Just a question, How about the players that are involved with BB, will they lose their current sponsorships for not traveling around playing in the Pro events using their sponsors equipment and promoting it??? Tied up in a studio not promoting products how can sponsors pay for that???

GREAT QUESTION! WOW, I AM GLAD THIS THREAD IS HERE TO ASK THESE GREAT QUESTIONS!

Kd



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Poolshootindon]

Promoters

CJ - 100% hit the nail on the head. Everyone should read this and stop slating the players etc...

Great post and tells it how it is, yet no one seems to understand this. Pool pro's ain't pro's, or they wouldn't pay to play. Do you see snooker players paying or darts players paying to play.

CJ has it 100% spot on!! IMO if the promoters want the best to play, then pay them to play.

Lee... Great idea.

Please contact Barry Behrman. I bet Barry and his daughter can come up with something that will work.

Don :frown:

 

[Poolshootindon]

Touche

Eaxctly, Don, and I agree. So if the pro players want to join BB, who are we to say they should not? They're trying to pay their bills, just like we do. Think about that! :wink:

Jam ...

Good answer. I guess all we can do is let it play out and see what comes of Bonus Ball.

Don

 

[Poolshootindon]

Passion & Choices

100% if the job was something they had a passion for, and Bonus Ball may be that job.
Look at the alternative: You can go to another "job" called a Pro Pool Tournament where they expect you to PAY to work, with another 100 or so "workers" of the same trade. Then, they promise if you do better than 75% of the other "workers" they will give you some of your money back.

If you do REALLY well they will give you more than your money back. 74% of these "workers" will lose money for working just as hard at preparing in their own way......oh, yes and all the workers have to pay for 100% of their food, travel, room, equipment, powder, wardrobe, etc.

Their only real drive comes from the passion they have for the Game......a Game that would advise them not to undertake such a negative situation. The Game would advice them not to because any consultant would advice a worker not to subject themselves to these type situations. In most states you MUST pay minimum wage, however, in this "Pro Tournament" scenario the Labor Laws do not apply.

People can actually Charge their staff to work without any chance of recovery. Then, if they {the players} find something else that will pay 100% of them (Bonus Ball) they are ridiculed for NOT being loyal to the scenario that makes most of them suffer a severe financial punishment.

We sincerely wish the best for the entire staff of Bonus Ball and every player that's doing what they MUST do to survive. If there's every anything we can do for their cause we will at NO CHARGE.....We've been in this situation on the Road, where we had to win to eat.....where no one was on our side, and would laugh if they thought we were broke or struggling......We have no grudges and understand this is human nature to an extent, the "dark side" of human psych.....we will do whatever's necessary to help if they need a hand. 'The Game is our Teacher'

CJ... While I do respect your reply to my quote I feel there are a few fatal flaws.

Would you be willing to pay for drugs for an addict?

Or would it be better if you paid for some rehab?

When I was younger I played the ponies all the time. Had some nice wins.

But after about 10 years I finally figured out that you just cant beat the VIG.

So now I make small wagers, but I am having much more fun.

Don't get me wrong. I really do hope that Bonus Ball succeeds.

In my opinion I think they are grasping at straws.
But i do hope I am proven wrong.

Oh, and I really doubt that 100% of the people out in the 9 to 5 work force have a passion for their jobs.

But I bet 100% of them know this is what is needed to pay their bills.


Don

 

[jay helfert]

I can see it with Nathan, just strikes me as that type of guy.

At least when you put your head down for the night, you won't have any problems sleeping. But better watch your health, it can catch up to pretty quick and bite you on the butt.

I used to pull this action off quite frequently in my younger days when we didn't run log books so I know what happens.

Of course, I also had some help in the form of white crosses, black beauties and Christmas trees.

Ah, the days of the Black Beauties! I might not miss a ball for hours!

 

[allanpsand]

I'm still standing by my long-held belief:

The game can improve in audience and popularity if local newspapers could be convinced to allocate a little section to cue sports.

Even a weekly Saturday issue of tournament results, league standings, and latest news could be helpful - sponsored by the local pool halls and league operators.

Could someone in a a small city (for example), talk with the local newspaper sports editor and present the idea?

It shouldn't be hard to include some ad buys in a special deal to try it out for six months and measure the results.

 

[JAM]

Ah, the days of the Black Beauties! I might not miss a ball for hours!

What a drag it is getting ---> HERE

And if you take more of those
you will get an overdose
No more running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
They just helped you on your way
through your busy dying day


T20s were the blacks. :wink:

 

[poolguy4u]

What a drag it is getting ---> HERE

And if you take more of those
you will get an overdose
No more running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
They just helped you on your way
through your busy dying day


T20s were the blacks. :wink:

Maybe it's a drag on here but with you posting pictures on Facebook, life is good.
:smile:
Thanks for all the pictures!:thumbup:

 

[JAM]

Maybe it's a drag on here but with you posting pictures on Facebook, life is good.
:smile:
Thanks for all the pictures!:thumbup:

Thanks for the kind words about my pictures. I love my pool pictures. I have only begun to touch the surface on Facebook.

When I hook up my old computer out in the garage, I have about a thousand more to go through. The best is yet to come!

 

[book collector]

Lee... Great idea.

Please contact Barry Behrman. I bet Barry and his daughter can come up with something that will work.

Don :frown:

Now all the milk from my cheerios is in my nose and keyboard , thanks